Risking it all

The whole street was silent. Stars shone above as the car pulled into Gary’s driveway. As Julian got out of the car, he hoped that Gary’s parents were not awake. Unfortunately for them, Mr. Dyer was back and he was standing at the landing when they got in and switched on the lights.

“Where have you been?” he asked, looking at his son.

“We had gone to see Danny,” Gary said. “We played a few games and didn’t realise how late it was getting. Sorry dad.”

“Don’t do this again,” the man said, his gaze lingering on Julian as if he was blaming him for leading his son astray. Julian felt the man was right. It was his fault, after all.

They claimed the stairs and Gary turned off the lights at the landing before they went to his room. Closing the door behind him, Julian went and placed the box on the table.

“What do you think is in there?” Julian asked, fearing to open the rusty box.

“I have no idea,” Gary said, sitting on his bed. He removed his jacket and placed it on the bed. “We’ll never know until we open it. Will you do the honours or do you want my help?”

Julian went and sat on a stool near the table. He stared at the metal box. Fumbling with the locks, he pulled the outer part open. It smelled funky and rusty, making him cough a bit. Inside was another box, a wooden one that looked quite weathered. His heart was pounding hard against his chest as he lifted the small wooden box. He shook it and he could hear something moving inside. It was not metallic. The box had been sealed closed with nails on all sides.

Julian grabbed a knife from the table and used it to pry the box open. Because the wood was almost rotting, it broke apart easily, giving him access to the inside. He saw a black cloth that was wrapped around something.

“I don’t think I’ll find anything meaningful,” Julian said, starting to feel disappointed already. He used a pen to loosen the cloth. A shiny ring appeared in the middle.

“A ring?” Julian said, standing up. “I went through all that for a stupid ring.”

“Hey, don’t yell so much. My dad might wake up again.” 

Gary came and touched the ring, twirling it around his finger. It was a very plain gold colored ring.

Julian sat back on the chair. “I can’t believe this. And Uncle Mason was saying it would be all I needed. What would I need a stupid ring for?”

“Maybe the ring is special for your family.”

“Special, my foot. Look at that ring. It’s so plain. How can it be special in any way? I’m sorry for wasting your time with all these issues.”

“Just keep the ring okay.”

“That man just wanted an excuse to leave me. I can’t believe he would stoop so low.”

Julian gathered placed the cloth and wooden box back into the metallic one then stood up, carrying it. 

“Just put it on,” Gary said. 

“No.”

“You might lose it. There’s no harm in putting it on.  Tomorrow you’ll call your uncle and ask him about the ring’s history. 

Julian sighed and let Gary put the ring in his middle finger.

“Goodnight,” he told his friend as he left the room.

When he got to his room, he placed the metallic box under the bed, planning to dispose of it the next day. He glanced at the ring and touched it again, wondering what secrets the ring held for it to have been hidden like that. Why didn’t his uncle dig it up and give it to him?

Julian could barely sleep that night. When he did sleep, he was plagued by nightmares. When he woke up the next morning, he was feeling anxious. He couldn’t stop thinking about everything that had happened.

He had lost everything in the fire and his uncle had promised that everything would be okay if he found whatever was buried as shown in the map. But he didn’t see how a ring could change his life. He was homeless and totally broke. 

When Gary’s parents left that morning, they went to sit under the sun in the backyard. Gary got bored and went in to bring a ball and they started kicking it back and forth. At one point, Gary kicked the ball so hard that it landed on the wall fence and bounced back strongly.

“What was that?” Gary asked.

Julian could feel that something was different in his body but he couldn’t tell what. The only thing he was sure of was feeling a rush of energy in him. Ever since his legs were broken, he had been walking around like a zombie. He felt weak and weary all the time. Despite the anxiety in his mind, his body felt quite strong.

They didn’t play after that because another friend of Gary’s arrived. He and the boy had planned to travel to a nearby town to see another a rich mutual friend of theirs. Johnny didn’t like Julian very much. Although Gary invited him to go with them, he turned down the offer. He already felt out of place with the two of them together talking about cars and other things Julian couldn’t afford. 

After the two left, Julian began to feel lonelier than ever. As he walked around the backyard, he started feeling like he had over stayed his welcome. Gary was doing whatever possible to help him and Julian felt that he was blocking Gary from doing other things he wanted.

“What are you doing there, freeloader?” the maid asked him as she put the trash out.

Julian said nothing but continued to walk.

“Aren’t you ashamed of being such a burden here,” the woman continued. “Gary is tired of you but he’s too nice and won’t say anything to you. Why do you think he went off with his other friend? You’re nothing but a beggar.”

Julian figured she was right. Feeling angry, he stormed into the house and went upstairs. He started to pack his things but after some time realised there was no point. Where would he go? What would he do?

He sat on his bed and contemplated for a long time. Eventually, he began to think of ending it all. The pain was too much for him. He felt like he didn’t want to live anymore. It wasn’t the first time for him to think like that. Ever since the fire, he had been thinking of it. He thought it would be better if he was no more.

Julian pulled the metallic box from under the bed and picked it up. Standing up, he left the room. He went to Gary’s room and peeped in. tears rolled down his face as he thought of the fact that he would never see Gary again. He was the only person that cared about him lately. He wondered if Gary would cry for him, or he would be too caught up with his rich friends and wouldn’t care.

Julian left Gary’s house with only one thought in mind.